On the other side of the door, Nayou—already anxious beyond measure—felt her heart race uncontrollably after hearing Shen's assurance.
Her unusual emotional state didn't last long before she was moved by his later promise.
Reinforcing the Nine-Tails' seal was simply a duty every member of Konoha should uphold.
No matter the hidden motives behind it, in the end, that was simply how things stood.
The Hyūga Clan's Caged Bird mark, however, was different in nature.
Imagining a pair of scales in her mind, Nayou placed the Hyūga Clan and Konoha on either side, representing Shen's equal regard for both.
In the next moment, though, she mentally swapped the Hyūga side with herself.
A mysterious smile lingered on her face.
As Shen opened the door, he froze solid upon seeing her.
The Nayou standing before him rarely smiled—and this particular expression was especially intriguing.
Though confident in his emotional intelligence, Shen suddenly recalled a terrible possibility—one that, in his previous life, would have landed him straight in prison if acted upon.
Only after fast-forwarding to the point where he became a "notable figure" locked away in Konoha's prison did Shen finally push those terrifying thoughts deep into the recesses of his mind.
"Cough...cough..."
Still lost in her own fantasy world, Nayou stiffly returned to her usual icy demeanor.
"Let's go." Automatically reaching out his hand, Shen paused awkwardly just before lightly brushing against hers.
Instantly, the entire room felt unbearably awkward.
"Let's go," said Nayou softly as she reached out and tightly grabbed that large, warm hand—now noticeably bigger than hers.
Startled, Shen instinctively tried pulling back several times but found himself unable to break free; her slender fingers had even begun to bulge slightly with effort.
Resigned, he let Nayou take his hand, walking side by side out of the Hyūga clan leader's home.
Inside the Hokage office, the Third Hokage ended his phone call immediately after listening to Orochimaru's brief report.
He slumped back in his chair and sighed heavily.
Due to fundamental differences in military systems, nearly half of the support unit had been lost—an unavoidable loss.
Undoubtedly, Kumo suffered heavier casualties than Konoha. Yet with Yugakure involved, the outcome basically amounted to a stalemate.
This war over Hot Water Country left neither side with any advantage, bringing everything back to square one. It clearly revealed to the Third Hokage that battlefield strategy mattered far more than individual strength alone.
"The time must be about right now," he thought, noticing the clock on the wall approaching nine o'clock. It was time for him to head out.
At Konoha's West Gate, many high-ranking officials and spectators gathered together.
Beaming with excitement, the Uchiha couple watched their youngest son's first battlefield appearance in the role of Commander.
Concerns over safety? Naturally minimal.
Had he been heading toward Hot Water Country to fight Kumogakure—those lightning-fast ninjas, some almost animalistic in appearance—they might've actually tried stopping Shen.
But Iwagakure? Other than sheer numbers, that flying old savior's Dust Release technique probably wasn't even accurate.
When it came to running away, this couple had never seen anyone who could outrun their youngest son.
The reason there hadn't been many father-and-son outings in recent years was precisely because Kazushi couldn't keep up!
Every time he ended up exhausted, bearing the brunt of endless sarcastic remarks. If it had been a younger clan member instead of Kazushi, someone else probably would have activated his Three-tomoe Sharingan right then and there.
On the other side stood Konoha's upper ranks surrounded by several hundred onlookers, ready to stir up trouble.
The smaller group looked overly excited, as though they were witnessing some major spectacle.
The larger group wore sorrowful expressions, seemingly mourning some tragic event.
At nine o'clock sharp, Lord Third arrived on the scene.
As soon as he saw the large crowd of villagers radiating sadness, he knew these must all be die-hard fans who simply loved drama.
In the entire vast village of Konoha, who else but them would resent seeing the Konoha Troublemaker leave?
"That kid actually had the nerve to be late!" The Third Hokage, whose headache had returned, quickly pulled out his mobile phone and dialed the number with the highest call frequency in his contact list.
"Hello?"
"Why did you—"
"Don't worry, I'm almost there."
"Beep beep beep beep…"
A vein bulged visibly on the side of Lord Third's forehead as he immediately decided he would give that guy a serious scolding later.
"Lord Third, my good-for-nothing boy always acts like this; please don't take offense," suddenly appearing Kazushi said apologetically.
"Yes, Lord Third, please show mercy. An old man like you shouldn't hold too many grudges against him," Aiko followed closely behind, equally contrite.
What could this couple really be implying?
He started to regret being such a nice guy all those years ago.
"Vroom!" The deep growl of an engine at the western gate caught everyone's attention.
A shiny black Indra's Ship let them know today's long-awaited protagonist had finally arrived.
Inside the car, Shen's face bore a slight unnaturalness.
More than half an hour earlier, he had just let Nayou lead him by the hand out of the Hyūga Clan Head's home—a scene truly capable of moving both heaven and earth.
He, Shen Uchiha, had once again been surrounded by Hyūga members!
And this time, their numbers were even twice as large as last time!
Shen immediately turned around, tightly grasping Nayou's small hand, pulling her swiftly into the car.
Fortunately, Indra's Ship possessed excellent shock absorption; otherwise, well, not even shaking—just a tiny tremor occurred.
Right before nearly three hundred Hyūga clan members, Konoha's legendary speed demon showed off what real driving skills looked like.
He, within the expansive Hyūga clan compound, freely performed various high-difficulty stunts.
Behind him, enthusiastic "cheering" fans passionately chased after those two provocatively blazing red tail lights.
"Well, maybe after a couple of years, no one will even remember this ever happened anyway?" Resigned to fate, Shen chose to go all-in.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
"Shen, what exactly are you planning to do?" Nayou, whose expression also seemed slightly unnatural, suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
Reaching up to touch his pendant, Shen took out a small remote control.
"Two days? Three days?"
"Never mind, just one month then." He turned the controller's knob to full power with one hand and pressed the only button on it.
The next second, an electronic beat that shook all of Konoha suddenly blared out without warning.
At the western gate, the crowd quickly parted to either side to make way for whatever was coming before breaking into dance moves.
Moments later, the glossy black Indra's Ship shot straight through the gates.
The Third Hokage and the Uchiha couple both raised their hands to cover their faces.
They'd always known that the divine presence inside that car wouldn't miss an opportunity to cause chaos.
"Wait! What're you tearing through like that?!" roared Nawaki, completely oblivious to the ominous presence approaching from behind.
In fact, none of the people at the scene noticed the terrifying aura coming from behind.
Because that aura wasn't directed at them at all.
The Third Hokage, along with the Uchiha couple who also sensed something, turned their heads to look toward the village.
All three almost jumped out of their skin on the spot.
"Honey," said the Uchiha wife, "do you think they're chasing our son?"
"It must be someone from the Hyūga clan on that vehicle."
Realization struck the Third Hokage suddenly, "Nayou is deputy head! Those people are—"
The Uchiha couple immediately beamed with joy, "Our boy's finally come into his own!"
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